Google eyeing Indian ad firm InMobi – report

Google is apparently negotiating the purchase of InMobi, an Indian mobile ad company, as it continues its pursuit of mobile advertising domination.

“Google has expressed an interest and reached out,” said someone familiar with the matter, as reported in The Wall Street Journal.

According to the Economic Times in India, which broke the story, talks between the two companies may stretch as far back as last September.

"They are now talking formally, the next step is a technology due diligence," said a source.

The move comes as social network Facebook continues its challenge on the internet search giant for online ad king, with a marked different landscape now for Google, in comparison with last September, when the initial talks began and ended.

In January, Facebook reported stunning financial results with regards to mobile advertising, with this alone constituting well over two-thirds of the company’s entire income.

Indian start-ups are in demand at the moment. At the same time Facebook announced those financials, microblogging site Twitter went out and bought mobile marketing start-up ZipDial for a rumoured US$40m. In 2014, Facebook acquired Little Eye Labs, adding to its mobile expertise.

Mobile is massive business, with research earlier this year showing the industry brought in global revenues of €2.85trn. Acquiring the right start-up, in the right country, at the right time, could pay substantial dividends to these major tech giants.